JPH0679934A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the number of constitution parts of the main body of a device and provide an inexpensive and miniaturized recorder. CONSTITUTION:A paper cutter 8f or a cutting member for cutting a recording sheet 1 into a proper size is formed of a thin metallic sheet having conductivity and is earthed through the earth of the main body of a device. Two pieces of L-shape retaining parts 8f1 are formed at one end of the short side direction of the cutting member and saw-tooth type cutter unit 8f2 is formed at the other end of the same member while cut-and-raised parts 8f3 as well as holes 8f4 are formed at both ends of the lengthwise direction of the same member respectively. Static electricity, charging a recording sheet, is removed by the cutting member whereby the line forming property of a discharged recording sheet is very excellent, the number of constitution parts of the device is reduced and an inexpensive and miniaturized recorder can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a discharging section of a recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium such as a single-cut sheet, continuous paper having pin holes, or roll paper wound in a roll is equipped with recording heads of various recording systems. It has been proposed in the form. Examples of the recording head include a wire dot recording system, a thermal recording system, a thermal transfer recording system, and an inkjet recording system. In such a recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, a recording medium such as continuous paper or roll paper is conveyed to a recording position of a recording head 52 by a conveying roller 51a and pinch rollers 51b and 51c that are in pressure contact with the roller 51a. In addition, the recording medium on which a predetermined image is recorded is ejected by the guide roller unit 53 and the ejection roller 54. Further, a cutter 55 having an edge shape is provided on the cover 55 of the discharge section of the apparatus in order to cut continuous paper or roll paper as a recording medium at an arbitrary position.

When the recording medium is conveyed, static electricity charged on the recording medium due to friction between the recording medium and the guide plate 57 or the like is unlikely to be discharged into the air in an environment with low absolute humidity, that is, in a low temperature and low humidity environment. . The recording medium discharged to the outside of the apparatus due to the static electricity charged on the recording medium may repel the recording medium already discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and the stackability (alignment) on the discharge tray (not shown) may deteriorate.
Therefore, in order to remove the static electricity charged on the recording medium, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a static elimination brush 59 is provided at the end of the platen 58 near the discharge part. Incidentally, the static elimination brush 59
Is made of a conductive fiber or the like that is electrically connected to the ground.

[0004]

However, the static elimination brush for removing the static electricity charged on the recording medium is expensive, and it may be difficult to design when installed in the apparatus. Further, there is a problem in that the conductive fibers of the static elimination brush are separated and the electric circuit is short-circuited, which causes a device failure. Further, since the cutter and the static elimination brush are separately provided, the cost is high.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to connect a cutting member, which is a cutter for appropriately cutting a recording medium, to the ground of the apparatus main body. The present invention aims to provide a recording apparatus which is formed of a conductive member and which has a reduced number of constituent parts to reduce the cost and size.

[0006]

A typical means for solving the above-mentioned problems and applied to the embodiments described below is for recording means for recording an image on a recording medium and for conveying the recording medium. Transporting means, discharging means for discharging the recording medium recorded by the recording means, and a cutting member for appropriately cutting the recording medium discharged by the discharging means, and the cutting member is electrically conductive. It is characterized in that it is composed of a conductive member having properties. The cutting member is electrically connected to the ground portion of the apparatus body.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the cutting member for appropriately cutting the recording medium is made of a conductive conductive member, and the cutting member is electrically connected to the ground portion of the apparatus main body. It is possible to eliminate static electricity charged in the medium, and therefore, the ejected recording medium and the already ejected recording medium do not repel each other, and it is possible to provide a recording apparatus in which the alignment of the recording medium is good. . Further, since the charge removing function is added to the cutting member, the number of constituent parts of the apparatus is reduced, and it is possible to provide a recording apparatus which is downsized at low cost.

[0008]

EXAMPLES Next, an example in which the above means is applied to a recording apparatus of a serial type ink jet recording system will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire recording apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part. (Overall Structure) First, the overall structure of the apparatus will be described. The recording sheet 1 is conveyed by the sheet conveying means 2. At this time, the recording sheet 1 is pressed against the conveying roller 2 a by the sheet pressing member 3 so as not to float up from the platen 4. When the recording sheet 1 is conveyed, a carriage 5 having a recording head 7 as recording means is reciprocated along a guide rail 6, and at the same time, the recording head 7 is driven to record an image on the recording sheet 1, The subsequent recording sheet 1 is guided upward by the guiding means 8 and discharged by the discharging means 9.

Here, the sheet conveying means 2 and the discharging means 9
Etc. are driven by a drive motor 10a which is the same drive source, and the drive means 10 having this drive motor 10a is arranged at one end side (left side in FIG. 1) of the recording apparatus. Further, an ink cartridge 7f for supplying ink to the recording head 7 and a recovery device 11 for removing ink adhesion and the like in the recording head 7 are arranged at one end side of the recording device. Further, the carriage 5 carrying the recording head 7 reciprocates by being transmitted with a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) which is a driving source through a transmission means (not shown) including a pulley and a timing belt. It is a thing.

Next, the structure of each part of the recording apparatus will be sequentially described in detail. (Sheet Conveying Means) The sheet conveying means 2 is for conveying the recording sheet 1 to the recording position, and the recording is fed from an ASF (Auto Sheet Feeder) (not shown) as a feeding means. Sheet 1 and manual feed port 12
The recording sheet 1 manually inserted from is conveyed. The sheet conveying means 2 in the present embodiment drives and rotates the conveying roller 2a in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 2 by the driving force of the driving means 10, and the front pinch roller 2b1 and the rear pinch roller 2b2, which are driven by the driving force, rotate the conveying roller 2a. The recording sheet 1 is configured to be conveyed.

The carrying roller 2a is attached to a roller shaft 2a1 whose both ends are rotatably supported by the left and right side walls 14a and 14b of the apparatus frame. This transport roller 2a is divided into a plurality of parts so that the rubber member forming the roller 2a is reduced to reduce the cost.
This is to reduce the weight of the device. A conveying gear 2a2 is attached to one end of the roller shaft 2a1 in the axial direction, and a driving force is transmitted from a driving motor 10a of the driving means 10. The pinch rollers 2a1 and 2a2 are supported by a swingable pinch roller holder (not shown), and are pressed against the surface of the transport roller 2a by pressing springs (not shown).
Moreover, it is rotated by the rotation of the transport roller 2a. Therefore, the recording sheet 1 is rotated by the conveying roller 2a and the pinch roller 2 that rotate.
A conveying force is applied by being nipped with a1 and 2a2.

Below the conveying roller 2a, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a curved paper pan 2d is attached along the peripheral surface of the transport roller 2a. The paper pan 2d extends to the manual feed port 12 shown in FIG. 1 and is configured to serve as a lower guide for the manually inserted recording sheet 1. Further, upper guide plates 15 and 16 are attached above the paper pan 2d at a predetermined interval to form a conveyance path of the recording sheet 1.

(Guiding Means) The guiding means 8 is a recording sheet 1 recorded by a recording head 7 as a recording means described later.
Is guided to the discharging means 9 and the sheet 1 is prevented from rising from the platen 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the guide means 8 is composed of a spur 8a1 arranged on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the recording sheet 1 and a spur 8a2 arranged on the downstream side. The spurs 8a1 and 8a2 are Each becomes a guide rotating body. The spur 8a1 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 8b serving as a support member. Both ends of the shaft 8b are pivotally supported by a shaft support member 8c1 formed on the back surface of a top cover 8c made of a synthetic resin molded product as shown in FIG. The spur 8a2 and the cleaner 8d are respectively holders 8
The top cover 8c is rotatably attached to the e.
A pressing spring 8e1 is provided between the holder and the holder 8e. The pressing spring 8e1 biases the spur 8a2 against a discharge roller 9a of a discharge means 9 described later.

A boss stopper 8c2 is provided at a predetermined position on the top cover 8c, and the boss stopper 8c2 is attached to the side wall 1.
The top cover 8c is rotatably attached to the side walls 14a, 14b by fitting the bosses 14a1 provided on the side walls 4a, 14b. The side walls 14a and 14b have a shaft 8b attached to a shaft support member 8c1 of the top cover 8c.
A shaft stopper 14a2 is provided at a position corresponding to
By rotating the top cover 8c around c2, the shaft 8b is fitted into the shaft stopper 14a2, and the spur 8 is rotated.
It is configured that a1 and 8a2 are set at predetermined positions, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, a locking member 8c3 having a notch 8c4 is provided on the rear surface of the top cover 8c at a position corresponding to the holder 8e, and the protrusion provided on the side surface of the holder 8e is provided in the notch 8c4. The rotation range of the holder 8e is regulated by fitting 8e2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a paper cutter 8f which is a cutting member for appropriately cutting the recording sheet 1 is attached to the back surface of the top cover 8c and substantially in the center thereof. The paper cutter 8f is formed of a thin metal plate having conductivity, and has a structure in which two L-shaped holding portions 8f1 are formed at one end in the lateral direction and a saw blade-shaped cutter portion 8f2 is formed at the other end. Further, a cut-and-raised portion 8f3 and a hole 8f4 are respectively formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the paper cutter 8f is attached to the top cover 8c by pressing the cut-and-raised portion 8f3 into a boss 8c5 provided in the top cover 8c and fitting the hole 8f4 into the boss 8c6. Has been. When the paper cutter 8f is attached to the top cover 8c as described above,
The cutter portion 8f2 of the paper cutter 8f is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording sheet 1, that is, on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to a discharge roller 9a described later (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the static electricity charged on the recording sheet 1 by sliding in the device is
When the sheet 1 passes near the paper cutter 8f, the paper cutter 8f removes electric charge.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to effectively remove electricity, the paper cutter 8f which is a member having an electricity removing function is used.
A predetermined gap is formed between the cutter portion 8f2 and the conveyed recording sheet 1 so that the surface of the recording sheet 1 does not come into contact with the cutter portion 8f2 of the paper cutter 8f. Furthermore, since the static electricity charged on the recording sheet 1 has a property of being easily applied to a sharp portion, the cutter portion 8f2 of the paper cutter 8f is formed into a saw blade shape, and the cutter portion 8f2 is used to cut continuous paper or roll paper. It is possible not only to cut the recording sheet 1 such as the above, but also to more effectively eliminate static electricity of the recording sheet 1.

L-shaped holding portion 8f1 of the paper cutter 8f
Is installed so as to be in pressure contact with the shaft 8b as shown in FIG. 2, and electrical continuity is ensured between the paper cutter 8f and the shaft 8b. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the earth member 8g, which is in contact with the shaft 8b on the right side wall 14b of the frame of the apparatus body and is in contact with the ground of the apparatus body, is formed of a metal plate having conductivity and spring property. When the top cover 8c is closed and the shaft 8b is fitted into the shaft stopper 14a2 provided on the right side wall 14b, the shaft 8b is in pressure contact.

Therefore, when the recording sheet 1 conveyed by the cutter portion 8f2 of the paper cutter 8f is cut, the static electricity charged on the recording sheet 1 is applied to the paper cutter 8f from the recording sheet 1 and the paper cutter 8f At the contact portion between the holding portion 8f1 and the shaft 8b, it is possible to flow to the shaft 8b and ground it to the ground via the ground member 8g that is in contact with the shaft 8b. Further, by providing the grounding member 8g as described above, even if the recording sheet 1 is highly charged, this static electricity can be smoothly grounded to the ground, and a larger static elimination effect can be expected. Is. The paper cutter 8f as described above can obtain the same effect even if it is adopted in a recording apparatus adopting another recording method, for example, a wire dot method, a heat sensitive method, or a thermal transfer method.

(Ejecting Means) The ejecting means 9 is for ejecting the recording sheet 1 recorded by the recording means 7, and its constitution is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ejecting roller 9a and the roller 9a. And the guide roller 8a2 of the guide means 8 which comes into contact with. A discharging gear 9c is attached to the end of the roller shaft 9b of the discharging roller 9a. When the driving force of the driving means 10 having the driving motor 10a is transmitted to the discharging gear 9c, the driving force is transmitted to the discharging roller 9a. The roller 9a is transmitted to rotate, and the recording sheet 1 is discharged by the cooperation of the discharge roller 9a and the guide roller 8a2.

(Sheet pressing member) Sheet pressing member 3
Is a conveying roller 2 for conveying the recording sheet 1 conveyed by the conveying means 2.
This is to prevent the recording sheet 1 from rising from the platen 4 by pressing it against a. As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet pressing member 3 is composed of a single plate-shaped member wider than the moving range of the carriage 5 so as to press the entire area of the recording sheet 1, and this is pressed by a spring or the like not shown. It is pressed against each of the transport rollers 2a by means. The leading end of the sheet pressing member 3 is located below the recording position of the recording head 7, and the conveyed recording sheet 1 is pressed against the conveying roller 2a by the member 3. As a result, the recording sheet 1 at the recording position does not rise above the platen 4. Further, the leading end of the carriage 5 is always in contact with the sheet pressing member 3 as described later.

(Recording Means) The recording head 7 which is the recording means in the present embodiment records an image on the recording sheet 1 conveyed by the conveying means 2, and is mounted on the carriage 5 and serially arranged. It is configured to scan and record. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 5 is slidably attached to guide rails 6 having circular cross sections fixed to the left and right side walls 14a and 14b at both ends. Further, the carriage 5 is attached so as to be rotatable around the guide rail 6 as an axis, and is attached such that the front side of the carriage 5, that is, the side facing the recording sheet 1 is lowered frontward. As a result, the carriage 5 and the carriage 5 are attached. The leading end of the carriage 5 contacts the sheet pressing member 3 due to the weight of the mounted recording head 7. As a result, the distance between the recording head 7 mounted on the carriage 5 and the recording sheet 1 is always kept constant.

The recording head 7 as the recording means ejects ink from the ink ejection port by applying energy according to a recording signal. In the present embodiment, particularly in the ink jet recording method, means for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink (for example, an electrothermal converter or laser light) is provided, and this heat energy causes a change in ink state. I use what makes me. This is because according to this method, high density recording and high definition recording can be achieved.

As shown in FIG. 1, a recovery device 11 is provided at the left end of the moving range of the carriage 5.
The recovery device 11 has a function of covering the ink ejection surface of the recording head 7 at the time of non-recording or the like to prevent the ink in the vicinity of the ink ejection port of the recording head 7 from being dried and the solidification accompanying this. . Further, a pump (not shown) is connected to the recovery device 11 in order to prevent defective ejection or removal of ink, or prevent them. The pump is driven to suck ink from the ink ejection port by its suction force. The recovery process can be performed.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the saw blade-shaped cutter portion 8f2 formed on the paper cutter 8f was used as the charge eliminating portion. However, as shown in FIG. A portion 8f6 may be provided, and static electricity charged on the recording sheet 1 may be removed by the cutout portion 8f6.

Further, although the ink jet recording system is used as the recording means in the above-mentioned embodiment, the electrothermal converter is energized in response to a recording signal, and due to the growth of bubbles caused by heating beyond the film boiling by the electrothermal converter. More preferably, the ink is ejected from the ejection port to perform recording. With regard to its typical structure and principle, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in the specification is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but in the case of the on-demand type in particular, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal converter, the electrothermal converter is caused to generate thermal energy,
This is effective because film boiling is caused on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and as a result bubbles can be formed in the liquid in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, so that particularly excellent liquid ejection can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. still,
US Patent No. 4 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface
If the conditions described in the specification of No. 313124 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,333 and 4,445,960 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification No. 0 is also included in the present invention. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening portion for absorbing a pressure wave of heat energy is discharged. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461 is disclosed, which discloses the configuration corresponding to. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a structure that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads or a structure as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type described above, when it is mounted on the recording head fixed to the carriage or the carriage, it is possible to electrically connect to the apparatus main body and supply ink from the apparatus main body. A replaceable chip type recording head or a cartridge type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself may be used. Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these are capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means by electrothermal conversion type or other heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads mounted on the carriage, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. And a plurality of them may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to a recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a combination of a plurality of recording heads integrally formed, but a mixed color of different colors or a mixed color It is also applicable to a device with at least one of the full colors according to

In addition, although the ink is described as a liquid in the above-mentioned embodiments, it is an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or in the ink jet recording system. Ink itself 3
In general, the temperature is controlled within the range of 0 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Good. In addition, it is possible to prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy from being positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to use ink that solidifies when left standing for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal,
It is also applicable to the case of using an ink which has a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy, such as one in which a liquid ink is ejected or one which has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording sheet. The ink in such a case is disclosed in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7126.
It is also possible to adopt a form as opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. The most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

Further, as a form of the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus, besides the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and further a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form or the like.

[0034]

As described above, a paper cutter, which is a cutting member for appropriately cutting a recording sheet, is formed of a conductive member and is electrically connected to the earth of the apparatus main body so that the recording sheet to be conveyed is slid. Even if static electricity caused by movement is charged, this static electricity can be removed. Therefore, the recording sheets discharged to the outside of the apparatus and the discharged recording sheets do not repel each other, and the alignment of the recording sheets is very good. Further, since the charge removing function is added to the cutting member, the number of constituent parts of the apparatus is reduced, and it is possible to provide a recording apparatus which is downsized at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a serial type inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of the guide means when the top cover is closed.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a guide unit and a paper cutter.

FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view of the paper cutter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a paper cutter according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Recording sheet 2 ... Sheet conveying means 2a1 ... Roll shafts 2b1, 2b2 ... Pinch roller 2d ... Paper pan 3 ... Sheet pressing member 4 ... Platen 5 ... Carriage 6 ... Guide rail 7 ... Recording head 7f ... Ink cartridge 8 ... Guide means 8a1, 8a2 ... Guide roller 8b ... Shaft 8c ... Top cover 8e ... Holder 8f ... Paper cutter 8f1 ... Holding part 8f2 ... Cutter part 8f3 ... Cut part 8f4 ... Hole 8f5 ... Cut part 8g ... Ground member 9a ... Ejection roller 9b ... roller shaft 9c ... discharge gear 10 ... drive means 10a ... drive motor 11 ... recovery device 12 ... manual feed opening 14a ... frame left wall 14b ... frame right wall 15, 16 ... upper guide plate reference number 2046128

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording unit for recording an image on a recording medium, a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium, an ejecting unit for ejecting the recording medium recorded by the recording unit, and the ejecting unit. And a cutting member for appropriately cutting the recording medium ejected by the means, wherein the cutting member is constituted by a conductive member having conductivity. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting member is electrically connected to a ground portion of the apparatus main body. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording system in which a recording unit ejects ink in accordance with a signal to perform recording. 4. The recording apparatus is an ink jet recording method in which recording means energizes an electrothermal converter in response to a signal and ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy from the electrothermal converter for recording. The recording device according to claim 3. 5. In the recording device, the recording means energizes the electrothermal converter in response to a signal, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port due to the growth of bubbles caused by heating beyond the film boiling by the electrothermal converter. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording method for performing recording.